About imported files and footage
items

You import source files into a project as the basis
for footage items and use them as sources for layers.
The same file can be the source for multiple footage items, each
with its own interpretation settings. Each footage item can be used
as the source for one or more layers. You work with collections
of layers in a composition.

You primarily work with footage items in the Project panel. You
can use the Footage panel to evaluate footage and perform simple
editing tasks, such as trimming the duration of a footage item.

You can import many different kinds of files, collections of
files, or components of files as sources for individual footage
items, including moving image files, still-image files, still-image
sequences, and audio files. You can even create footage items yourself
within After Effects, such as solids and precompositions. You can import
footage items into a project at any time.

When you import files, After Effects does not copy the image
data itself into your project but creates a reference link to the
source of the footage item, which keeps project files relatively
small.

If you delete, rename, or move an imported source file, you break
the reference link to that file. When a link is broken, the name
of the source file appears in italics in the Project panel, and
the File Path column lists it as missing. If the footage item is
available, you can reestablish the link—usually just by double-clicking
the item and selecting the file again.

To reduce rendering time and increase performance, it is often
best to prepare footage before you import it into After Effects.
For example, it is often better to scale or crop a still image in
Photoshop before you bring it into After Effects, rather than scaling
and cropping the image in After Effects. It is better to perform an
operation once in Photoshop than to force After Effects to perform
the same action many times per second—once for each frame in which
the image appears.

To save time and minimize the size and complexity of a project,
import a source item as a single footage item and then use it multiple
times in a composition. It is occasionally useful, however, to duplicate
a footage item and interpret each differently. For example, you
can use the same footage at two different frame rates.

If you use another application to modify a footage item that
is used in a project, the changes appear in After Effects the next
time that you open the project or select the footage item and choose
File > Reload Footage.

To replace the source footage item for a layer
with another footage item, without affecting changes made to the
layer properties, select the layer and then Alt-drag (Windows) or
Option-drag (Mac OS) the new footage item onto the layer in the Timeline
panel.

To replace all uses of selected footage items
with another footage item, select footage items in the Project panel,
and then Alt-drag (Windows) or Option-drag (Mac OS) the new footage
item onto a selected footage item in the Project panel.

When After Effects imports video and audio in some formats, it
processes and caches versions of these items that it can readily
access when generating previews. This caching greatly improves performance
for previews, because the video and audio items do not need to be
reprocessed for each preview. See Media
cache.

Native encoding and decoding of QuickTime files

After Effects can natively decode and encode QuickTime (.mov) files using the GoPro Cineform codecs on Mac OS and Windows. This means that you do not need to install additional codecs to use and create such files.

Supported import formats

Some filename extensions—such as MOV, AVI, MXF, FLV, and F4V—denote container file formats rather than denoting a specific audio, video, or image data format. Container files can contain data encoded using various compression and encoding schemes. After Effects can import these container files, but the ability to import the data that they contain is dependent on which codecs (specifically, decoders) are installed.

By installing additional codecs, you can extend the ability of After Effects to import additional file types. Many codecs must be installed into the operating system (Windows or Mac OS) and work as a component inside the QuickTime or Video for Windows formats. Contact the manufacturer of your hardware or software for more information about codecs that work with the files that your specific devices or applications create.

Importing and using some files requires the installation of additional import plug-ins. (See Plug-ins.)

Support for ARRIRAW files from the ARRI ALEXA, or ARRIFLEX D-21 cameras

The following are known issues with ARRIRAW:

The importer works in 16 bit, so set your project to 16 or 32 bpc.

There is no exposure or color space control in the importer, and no importer options at all.

Footage is always decoded at full resolution, even if a lower frame size is needed.

Metadata is not exposed as XMP, so is not available in After Effects.

Collect Files does not work with ARRIRAW footage.

CinemaDNG

Note:CinemaDNG is a subset of CameraRAW. A subset of CameraRAW settings can be accessed via More Options in the Interpret Footage dialog box. Color management for CinemaDNG includes the same color spaces as After Effects existing CameraRAW: Adobe RGB, sRGB IEC619662.1, ColorMatch RGB, and ProPhoto RGB.

For more information on CinemaDNG, and to download the CinemaDNG importer, go to the Adobe Labs website.

Adobe After Effects 6.0 and later binary projects in After
Effects CS5 (AEP, AET)

Adobe After Effects 6.5 and later binary projects in After
Effects CS5.5 and later (AEP, AET)

Adobe After Effects CS4 and later XML projects (AEPX)

The Automatic Duck Pro Import AE plug-in is now bundled with the application, and called Pro Import After Effects. With it, you can import AAF and OMF files from an Avid system, XML files from Final Cut Pro 7, or earlier, and project files from Motion 4, or earlier. For more information on using Pro Import After Effects, see its User Guide, accessible by choosing File > Import > Pro Import After Effects, then clicking the Help button.

You can also import Final Cut Pro projects into Premiere Pro and then bring that project's components into After Effects.

In this video by Todd Kopriva and video2brain, learn how to import projects using Pro Import After Effects. We demonstrate using a Final Cut Pro project, but the same procedure works for other formats, such as XML, AAF, and OMF.

MXF is a container format. After Effects can only import some kinds of data contained within MXF files. After Effects can import the Op-Atom variety of MXF files used by Panasonic video cameras to record to Panasonic P2 media. After Effects can import video from these MXF files using the AVC-Intra 50, AVC-Intra 100, DV, DVCPRO, DVCPRO50, and DVCPRO HD codecs. After Effects can also import XDCAM HD files in MXF format, the MXF OP1format, which contains MPEG-2 video that complies with the XDCAM HD format.

Some MPEG data formats are stored in container formats with filename extensions that are not recognized by After Effects; examples include .vob and .mod. In some cases, you can import these files into After Effects after changing the filename extension to one of the recognized filename extensions. Because of variations in implementation in these container formats, compatibility is not guaranteed.

David Van Brink provides the qt_tools toolset on his omino website. This toolset is useful for converting and examining QuickTime files.

RED (R3D)

Note:

R3D files are interpreted as containing 32-bpc colors in a non-linear HDTV (Rec. 709) color space. The RED R3D Source Settings color adjustments don't preserve overbright values. Color adjustments done within After Effects do preserve overbright colors when you work in 32-bpc (bits per channel) color. To avoid clipping, manipulate exposure in After Effects, rather than in the footage interpretation stage in the RED R3D Source Settings dialog box. (For more information on using R3D files, see the RED website and the Adobe website.)

SWF (continuously rasterized)

Note:

SWF files are imported with an alpha channel. Audio is not retained. Interactive content and scripted animation are not retained. Animation defined by keyframes in the main, top-level movie is retained.

Video for Windows (AVI, WAV; requires QuickTime on Mac OS)

Windows Media File (WMV, WMA, ASF; Windows only)

XDCAM HD and XDCAM EX

Note:

After Effects can import Sony XDCAM HD assets if they were recorded to MXF files. After Effects cannot import XDCAM HD assets in IMX format. After Effects can import Sony XDCAM EX assets stored as essence files with the .mp4 filename extension in a BPAV directory. For information about the XDCAM format, see this PDF document on the Sony website.

Import footage items

You can import media files into your project either by using the Import dialog box or by dragging. The imported footage items appear in the Project panel.

If the Interpret Footage dialog box appears after you import a footage item, it contains an unlabeled alpha channel, and you must select an alpha channel interpretation method or click Guess to let After Effects determine how to interpret the alpha channel. (See Alpha channel interpretation: premultiplied or straight.)

Click a file and then Shift-click another file to select a range of files, and then click Open.

(Windows only) Select an entire folder, and then click Import Folder.

Note:

If the Sequence option is selected, multiple files from the folder are imported as a sequence of still images.

Import footage items by dragging

If you always want the
layered still-image files that you drag into After Effects to be
imported as a composition, choose Edit > Preferences > Import
(Windows) or After Effects > Preferences > Import (Mac OS),
and choose Composition or Composition - Retain Layer Sizes from
the Drag Import Multiple Items As menu. (See Import
a still-image sequence as a composition.)

To import a single file, drag it from Windows Explorer (Windows) or the Finder (Mac OS) into the Project panel.

To import the contents of a folder as a sequence of still images that appear in the Project panel as a single footage item, drag a folder from Windows Explorer (Windows) or the Finder (Mac OS) into the Project panel.

To import the contents of the folder as individual footage items that appear in the Project panel in a folder, Alt-drag a folder from Windows Explorer (Windows) or Option-drag a folder from the Finder (Mac OS) into the Project panel.

To import a rendered output file from the Render Queue panel, drag the corresponding output module from the Render Queue panel into the Project panel.

Note:

If you drag an output module from the Render Queue panel into the Project panel before rendering, After Effects creates a placeholder footage item. References to the placeholder footage item are automatically replaced when the output module is rendered; the placeholder footage item itself is not replaced.

Interpret footage items

After Effects uses a set of internal rules
to interpret each footage item that you import according
to its best guess for the source file’s pixel aspect ratio, frame rate,
color profile, and alpha channel type. If After Effects guesses
wrong, or if you want to use the footage differently, you can modify
these rules for all footage items of a particular kind by editing
the interpretation rules file (interpretation rules.txt), or you
can modify the interpretation of a specific footage item using the
Interpret Footage dialog box.

The interpretation settings
tell After Effects the following about each footage item:

In all of these cases, the information is
used to make decisions about how to interpret data in the imported
footage item—to tell After Effects about the input footage. The
interpretation settings in the Interpret Footage dialog box should
match the settings used to create the source footage file. Do not
use the interpretation settings to try to specify settings for your
final rendered output.

Generally, you don’t need to change
interpretation settings. However, if a footage item isn’t of a common
kind, After Effects may need additional information from you to
interpret it correctly.

You can use the controls in the Color
Management section of the Interpret Footage dialog box to tell After
Effects how to interpret the color information in a footage item.
This step is usually only necessary when the footage item does not
contain an embedded color profile.

When you preview in the
Footage panel, you see the results of the footage interpretation
operations.

Jeff Almasol provides a script on his redefinery website that you can use
to make guessing the 3:2 pulldown, 24Pa pulldown, or alpha channel
interpretation more convenient.

Note:

Select Preview in the Interpret
Footage dialog box to preview the results of the settings made in
this dialog box before you accept the changes.

Interpret a single footage item
using the Interpret Footage dialog box

Select a footage item in the Project
panel and do one of the following:

Click the Interpret Footage button
at the bottom of the Project panel.

Drag the footage item to the Interpret Footage button.

Choose File > Interpret Footage > Main.

Press Ctrl+Alt+G (Windows) or Command+Option+G (Mac
OS).

Interpret a proxy using the Interpret
Footage dialog box

Select the original footage item in
the Project panel and do one of the following:

Alt-click (Windows) or Option-click (Mac
OS) the Interpret Footage button at
the bottom of the Project panel.

Apply Interpret Footage settings
to multiple footage items

You can ensure that different footage items
use the same settings by copying interpretation settings from one
item and applying them to others.

In the Project panel, select the item with the
interpretation settings that you want to apply.

Choose File > Interpret Footage > Remember Interpretation.

Select one or more footage items in the Project panel.

Choose File > Interpret Footage > Apply Interpretation.

Edit interpretation rules for all
items of a specific kind

The interpretation rules file contains the rules that specify how After Effects interprets footage items. In most cases, you don’t need to customize the interpretation rules file. When you import a footage item, After Effects looks for a match in the interpretation rules file, and then determines interpretation settings for the footage item. You can override these settings after importing, using the Interpret Footage dialog box.

In most cases, the name of the interpretation rules file is interpretation rules.txt; however, some updates to After Effects install a new interpretation rules file with a name that indicates the updated version number, and the updated application uses this new file. If you’ve made changes to the old interpretation rules file, you may need to apply those changes to the new file, too.

As a precaution, make a backup copy of the interpretation
rules file. By default, this file is in the same location as the
After Effects application.

Open the interpretation rules file in a text editor.

Modify the settings according to the instructions in
the file.

Note:

You must supply a four-character file-type code for
each footage type or codec. If you don’t know the code for a file
or codec in a project, press Alt (Windows) or Option (Mac OS) as
you select the file in the Project panel. The file-type code and codec
code (if the file is compressed) appear in the last line of the
file description at the top of the Project panel.

Alpha channel interpretation: premultiplied
or straight

Image files with alpha channels store transparency information in one of two ways: straight or premultiplied. Although the alpha channels are the same, the color channels differ.

With straight (or unmatted) channels, transparency information is stored only in the alpha channel, not in any of the visible color channels. With straight channels, the results of transparency aren’t visible until the image is displayed in an application that supports straight channels.

With premultiplied (or matted) channels, transparency information is stored in the alpha channel and also in the visible RGB channels, which are multiplied with a background color. Premultiplied channels are sometimes said to be matted with color. The colors of semitransparent areas, such as feathered edges, are shifted toward the background color in proportion to their degree of transparency.

Some software lets you specify the background color with which the channels are premultiplied; otherwise, the background color is usually black or white.

Straight channels retain more accurate color information than premultiplied channels. Premultiplied channels are compatible with a wider range of programs, such as Apple QuickTime Player. Often, the choice of whether to use images with straight or premultiplied channels has been made before you receive the assets to edit and composite. Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects recognize both straight and premultiplied channels, but only the first alpha channel they encounter in a file containing multiple alpha channels.

Setting the alpha channel interpretation correctly can prevent problems when you import a file, such as undesirable colors at the edge of an image or a loss of image quality at the edges of the alpha channel. For example, if channels are interpreted as straight when they are actually premultiplied, semitransparent areas retain some of the background color. If a color inaccuracy, such as a halo, appears along the semitransparent edges in a composition, try changing the interpretation method.

A footage item with premultiplied channels (top) appears with
a black halo when interpreted as Straight-Unmatted (lower-left).
When the footage item is interpreted as Premultiplied-Matted With
Color and the background color is specified as black, the halo does
not appear (lower-right).

You can use the Remove
Color Matting effect to remove the fringes from the semi-transparent
areas of a layer by unmultiplying it.

Aharon Rabinowitz provides
a video tutorial on the Creative COW website that describes
how and when to use the Remove Color Matting effect.

Set the alpha channel interpretation
for a footage item

In the Project panel, select a footage
item.

Choose File > Interpret Footage > Main.

If you want to switch the opaque and transparent areas
of the image, select Invert Alpha.

In the Alpha section, select an interpretation method:

Guess

Attempts to determine the type of channels used in the image.
If After Effects cannot guess confidently, it beeps.

Ignore

Disregards transparency information contained in the alpha
channel.

Straight - Unmatted

Interprets the channels as straight.

Premultiplied - Matted With Color

Interprets channels as premultiplied. Use the eyedropper
or color picker to specify the color of the background with which the
channels were premultiplied.

Set the default alpha channel preferences

Choose options from the Interpret Unlabeled Alpha As
menu. The options in this menu are similar to the options in the
Interpret Footage dialog box. Ask User specifies that the Interpret
Footage dialog box opens each time a footage item with an unlabeled
alpha channel is imported.

Frame rate

The composition frame rate determines the
number of frames displayed per second, and how time is divided into
frames in the time ruler and time display. In other words, the composition
frame rate specifies how many times per second images are sampled
from the source footage items, and it specifies the time divisions
at which keyframes can be set.

Note:

After Effects contains a menu for drop-frame or non-drop-frame timecode in the Composition Settings dialog box. In previous releases, this option was a global setting per project.

Composition
frame rate is usually determined by the type of output that you
are targeting. NTSC video has a frame rate of 29.97 frames per second
(fps), PAL video has a frame rate of 25 fps, and motion picture
film typically has a frame rate of 24 fps. Depending on the broadcast
system, DVD video can have the same frame rate as NTSC video or
PAL video, or a frame rate of 23.976. Cartoons and video intended
for CD-ROM or the web are often 10–15 fps.

Setting
the composition frame rate to twice the rate of the output format
causes After Effects to display each field of interlaced source
footage as its own, separate frame in the Composition panel. This
process lets you set keyframes on individual fields and gain precision
when animating masks.

When you render a movie for final
output, you can choose to use the composition frame rate or another
frame rate. The ability to set the frame rate for each output module
is useful when you are using the same composition to create output
for multiple media.

Each motion-footage item in a composition
can also have its own frame rate. The relationship between the footage-item
frame rate and the composition frame rate determines how smoothly
the layer plays. For example, if the footage-item frame rate is
30 fps and the composition frame rate is 30 fps, then whenever the composition
advances one frame, the next frame from the footage item is displayed.
If the footage-item frame rate is 15 fps and the composition frame
rate is 30 fps, then each frame of the footage item appears in two
successive frames of the composition. (This assumes, of course,
the simple case in which no time stretching or frame blending has
been applied to the layer.)

Ideally, use source footage that
matches the final output frame rate. This way, After Effects renders
each frame, and the final output does not omit, duplicate, or interpolate
frames. If, however, the source footage has a frame rate slightly different
from what you want to output to (for example, 30-fps footage and 29.97-fps
final output), you can make the footage frame rate match the composition
frame rate by conforming it.

Conforming the
frame rate of a footage item does not alter the original file, only the
reference that After Effects uses. When conforming, After Effects
changes the internal duration of frames but not the frame content.
Afterward, the footage plays back at a different speed. For example,
if you conform the frame rate from 15 fps to 30 fps, the footage
plays back twice as fast. In most cases, conform the frame rate
only when the difference between the footage frame rate and the output
frame rate is small.

Note:

Conforming can change the synchronization
of visual footage that has an audio track, because changing the
frame rate changes the duration of the video but leaves the audio
unchanged. If you want to stretch both audio and video, use the Time
Stretch command. (See Time-stretch
a layer.) Keyframes applied to the source footage remain
at their original locations (which retains their synchronization
within the composition but not the visual content of the layer).
You may need to adjust keyframe locations after conforming a footage
item.

You can change the frame rate for any movie or sequence
of still images. For example, you can import a sequence of ten still
images and specify a frame rate for that footage item of 5 frames
per second (fps); this sequence would then have a duration of two
seconds when used in a composition.

Note:

When you import a sequence
of still images, it assumes the frame rate specified by the Sequence
Footage preference in the Import category. The default rate is 30 frames
per second (fps). You can change the frame rate after importing
by reinterpreting the footage item. (See Interpret
footage items.)

Lower frame rates tend to give the
impression of unreality, so many people prefer to work at a lower
frame rate such as 24 frames per second for creative work instead
of working at the 29.97 frames per second that is standard for NTSC video.

Note:

If
you remove 3:2 pulldown from interlaced video footage, After Effects automatically
sets the frame rate of the resulting footage item to four-fifths
of the original frame rate. When removing 3:2 pulldown from NTSC
video, the resulting frame rate is 24 fps.

The frame rate of the composition should match the frame rate of the final output format. In most cases, you can simply choose a composition settings preset. In contrast, set the frame rate for each footage item to the frame rate of the original source footage.

Trish and Chris Meyer provide links to technical reference materials about frame rates and other details of digital video on the ProVideo Coalition website.

Change frame rate for a footage
item

Select the footage item in the Project
panel.

Choose File > Interpret Footage > Main.

Select Conform To Frame Rate, enter a new frame rate
for Frames Per Second, and then click OK.

Instead of using Interpret Footage to
change a footage item’s frame rate, you can time-stretch a layer
based on the footage item. For example, time-stretch a layer by 100.1%
to convert between 30fps and 29.97fps. Time-stretching modifies
the speed of audio as well as video. (See Time-stretch
a layer.)

Change frame rate for a composition

Choose Composition > Composition
Settings.

Do one of the following:

Choose a composition settings preset from
the Preset menu.

Set the Frame Rate value.

Note:

Jeff Almasol provides a script on is redefinery website to set the frame
rate and duration of the current composition and all compositions
nested within it.

Some video formats output
the same frame aspect ratio but use a different pixel aspect ratio.
For example, some NTSC digitizers produce a 4:3 frame aspect ratio, with
square pixels (1.0 pixel aspect ratio), and a frame with pixel dimensions
of 640x480. D1 NTSC produces the same 4:3 frame aspect ratio but
uses nonsquare pixels (0.91 pixel aspect ratio) and a frame with
pixel dimensions of 720x486. D1 pixels, which are always nonsquare,
are vertically oriented in systems producing NTSC video and horizontally
oriented in systems producing PAL video.

If you display nonsquare
pixels on a square-pixel monitor without alteration, images and
motion appear distorted; for example, circles distort into ellipses. However,
when displayed on a video monitor, the images are correct. When
you import D1 NTSC or DV source footage into After Effects, the
image looks slightly wider than it does on a D1 or DV system. (D1
PAL footage looks slightly narrower.) The opposite occurs when you
import anamorphic footage using D1/DV NTSC Widescreen or D1/DV PAL
Widescreen. Widescreen video formats have a frame aspect ratio of
16:9.

Note:

To preview non-square pixels on a computer monitor,
click the Toggle Pixel Aspect Ratio Correction button at
the bottom of the Composition panel. The quality of the pixel aspect
ratio correction for previews is affected by the Zoom Quality preference
in the Previews category. (See Viewer
Quality preferences.)

If
a footage item uses nonsquare pixels, After Effects displays the
pixel aspect ratio next to the thumbnail image for the footage item
in the Project panel. You can change the pixel aspect ratio interpretation
for individual footage items in the Interpret Footage dialog box.
By ensuring that all footage items are interpreted correctly, you
can combine footage items with different pixel aspect ratios in
the same composition.

After Effects reads and writes pixel
aspect ratios directly from QuickTime movies. For example, if you
import a movie captured as widescreen (16:9 DV), After Effects automatically
tags it correctly. Similarly, AVI and PSD files contain information
that explicitly indicates the pixel aspect ratio of the images.

If
a footage item does not contain information that explicitly indicates
the pixel aspect ratio of the image, After Effects uses the pixel
dimensions of the footage item frame to make a guess. When you import
a footage item with either the D1 pixel dimensions of 720x486 or
the DV pixel dimensions of 720x480, After Effects automatically
interprets that footage item as D1/DV NTSC. When you import a footage
item with the D1 or DV pixel dimensions of 720x576, After Effects automatically
interprets that footage item as D1/DV PAL. However, you can make sure
that all files are interpreted correctly by looking in the Project
panel or the Interpret Footage dialog box.

Note:

Make sure to
reset the pixel aspect ratio to Square Pixels when you import a square-pixel
file that happens to have a D1 or DV pixel dimensions—for example,
a non-DV image that happens to have pixel dimensions of 720x480.

The
pixel aspect ratio setting of the composition should match the pixel
aspect ratio of the final output format. In most cases, you can
simply choose a composition settings preset. In contrast, set the
pixel aspect ratio for each footage item to the pixel aspect ratio
of the original source footage.

Trish and Chris Meyer provide
tips and tricks regarding pixel aspect ratio in two PDF documents
on the Artbeats website:

Upgrade pixel aspect ratios to
correct values

After Effects CS3 and earlier used pixel aspect
ratios for standard-definition video formats that ignore the concept
of clean aperture. By not accounting for the fact that
clean aperture differs from production aperture in
standard-definition video, the pixel aspect ratios used by After
Effects CS3 and earlier were slightly inaccurate. The incorrect
pixel aspect ratios cause some images to appear subtly distorted.

Note:

The
clean aperture is the portion of the image that is free from artifacts
and distortions that appear at the edges of an image. The production
aperture is the entire image.

Todd Kopriva summarizes information about the corrected pixel aspect ratios in a post on the Adobe website.

The following table provides details about pixel aspect ratio values in After Effects:

format

value in After Effects CS4 and later

previous value

D1/DV NTSC

0.91

0.9

D1/DV NTSC Widescreen

1.21

1.2

D1/DV PAL

1.09

1.07

D1/DV PAL Widescreen

1.46

1.42

This discrepancy is limited to these older,
standard-definition formats for which clean aperture differs from
production aperture. This discrepancy doesn’t exist in newer formats.

New
projects and compositions created in After Effects CS4 and later
use the correct pixel aspect ratio values by default.

Projects
and compositions created in After Effects CS3 or earlier are upgraded
to use the correct pixel aspect ratios when these projects are opened
in After Effects CS4 and later.

Note:

If you have a custom interpretation
rules file, then you should update it with the correct pixel aspect
ratio values.

If you use square-pixel footage items that
are designed to fill the frame in a composition with non-square
pixels, you may find that the change in pixel aspect ratios causes
a difference in behavior. For example, if you previously created 768x576
square-pixel footage items to use in a PAL D1/DV composition, you should
now create those items with square-pixel dimensions of 788x576.

Change pixel aspect ratio for a
composition

Common pixel aspect ratios

Pixel aspect ratio

When to use

Square pixels

1.0

Footage has a 640x480 or 648x486 frame size,
is 1920x1080 HD (not HDV or DVCPRO HD), is 1280x720 HD or HDV, or
was exported from an application that doesn’t support nonsquare
pixels. This setting can also be appropriate for footage that was
transferred from film or for customized projects.

D1/DV NTSC

0.91

Footage has a 720x486 or 720x480 frame size,
and the desired result is a 4:3 frame aspect ratio. This setting
can also be appropriate for footage that was exported from an application
that works with nonsquare pixels, such as a 3D animation application.

D1/DV NTSC Widescreen

1.21

Footage has a 720x486 or 720x480 frame size,
and the desired result is a 16:9 frame aspect ratio.

D1/DV PAL

1.09

Footage has a 720x576 frame size, and the
desired result is a 4:3 frame aspect ratio.

D1/DV PAL Widescreen

1.46

Footage has a 720x576 frame size, and the
desired result is a 16:9 frame aspect ratio.

Anamorphic 2:1

2.0

Footage was shot using an anamorphic film
lens, or it was anamorphically transferred from a film frame with
a 2:1 aspect ratio.

HDV 1080/DVCPRO HD 720, HD Anamorphic 1080

1.33

Footage has a 1440x1080 or 960x720 frame
size, and the desired result is a 16:9 frame aspect ratio.

DVCPRO HD 1080

1.5

Footage has a 1280x1080 frame size, and
the desired result is a 16:9 frame aspect ratio.